Robert B. "Bob" Lewis (May 12, 1924 – February 17, 2006) was an American businessman who owned a number of championThoroughbredracehorses during the 1990s and 2000s.
Bob Lewis was born inMinneapolis and grew up inGlendale, California. He served in theUnited States Army duringWorld War II before studying at theUniversity of Oregon. At Oregon, Lewis was a member ofDelta Tau Delta fraternity. After graduating, he worked inLos Angeles as a beer salesman. In 1956, he started his own company, the Foothill Beverage Company, which became one of the biggestAnheuser-Busch distributors in the country.
Activephilanthropists, the Lewises have a number of charitable works including a $5 million donation to the Pomona Valley Hospital to help establish the Robert and Beverly Lewis Family Cancer Care Center.
In 1990, Lewis and his wife, Beverly J. Lewis, bought their first Thoroughbreds. They became dedicated owners, spending millions at yearling sales and hiring first class trainers such asBob Baffert andD. Wayne Lukas. The couple's first major success came whenTimber Country won 1994Breeders' Cup Juvenile then in 1995, thePreakness Stakes. At the same time, theirfilly,Serena's Song, was voted theU.S. Champion 3-Year-Old Filly for 1995. After retiring, in 2002 Serena's Song was inducted in theNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. That year they were voted theBig Sport of Turfdom Award.
Other well known horses owned by the Lewises includeSilver Charm, winner of the 1997Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and the 1998Dubai World Cup, the richest horse race in the world. In 1999, their coltCharismatic also won the Derby and Preakness and was votedUnited States Horse of the Year.
The Lewises had sixEclipse Award winning horses. After Silver Charm won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1997, the couple were voted theEclipse Award of Merit, the American Thoroughbred horse racing industry's highest honor. Charismatic repeated his stablemate's success in 1999 but broke a leg in theBelmont Stakes.Commendable won the Belmont Stakes in 2000 wearing Lewis' colors.Orientate won theBreeders' Cup Sprint in 2002 whileFolklore won theBreeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies championship.
Bob Lewis died on February 17, 2006. In 2007,Santa Anita Park inArcadia, California, renamed theSanta Catalina Stakes in his honor. On October 20, 2017, his wife Beverly died at the age of 90 after a lengthy illness.
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